Reviews
the shining:
A rollercoaster featuring the best
-Vishnu kishor thampi
A director obsessed with perfection. A writer of the highest calibre. A writer who was severely unhappy with the adaptation. A writer who disagrees. And what’s the product? One of the most influential films to ever grace the genre of horror.
Let’s talk plot. Jack Torrence and his wife and son, Wendy and Danny, are asked to look after the famous overlook hotel for five months. During this time, they aren’t allowed to leave the hotel, and the only form of contact they have with the outside world is a single radio. What starts out as an innocent little holiday soon changes into a fight for survival, throwing sanity and morality right out the window.
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Stanley Kubrick ensures that every single shot in this movie is used to its maximum potential, always using dialogue and innovative camerawork to hint at what’s to come. What’s most interesting about the plot of this movie is the numerous ways in which people can interpret it. The film is directed in such a way that the viewer is just given information. The viewer can decide how they want to use this information to create a story in their mind. Kubrick gives you the building blocks, and the rest is up to interpretation.
The acting in this movie is beyond excellent. Actors make their characters seem so real and believable that you often forget that you’re watching a movie. Jack Nicholson beautifully captures the insanity of Jack Torrence and portrays the character with perfection. Shelly Duvall as Wendy Torrance provides a stellar range of emotion and masterfully portrays a mother who would do anything to save her child. Last but not least, we have Danny Lloyd playing Danny Torrence, providing one of the most phenomenal child performances ever seen in film. These three powerhouses come together to create some of the most terrifying, spine-tingling and nerve-wracking scenes that leave the viewer watching through their fingers.
Why is this film so terrifying? A lot of the horror in this film stems from how the viewer interprets it. The film deals with a spectrum of topics, and the story can be put together in a multitude of ways. Jack Torrence also amplifies the terrifying nature of this film; he merely exists as a ball of rage and spite. From the moment he’s introduced, he is portrayed as a jerk. He’s stern and unforgiving, and even a small burst of misled motivation can make him do the worst of things. He seems real. His actions are erratic and inhumane and yet they’re grounded in reality. It almost makes the viewer feel like they can fall into this state of madness and violence themselves and doesn’t give the viewer hope. It instead tells us that we too could encounter such a terrible personality. And it's genuinely petrifying because it's right.
For a fan of the horror genre, this movie is an absolute treat. It’ll strap you in for a wild ride, and leave you with questions you will pick your brain trying to answer.
Buzzfeed Unsolved:
A mix of wit and style
-Ananya aaliya
Everyone is intrigued by the unknown and the unsolved. From ghosts and ghouls to grizzly murders and a whodunnit, we all love hearing about phenomena we might not understand, even if it might petrify us. If you are intrigued by the unfathomable, I highly recommend Buzzfeed Unsolved to you.
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The Buzzfeed Unsolved Network, as you might guess from its name, is a docuseries that is run by the multimillion-dollar content company, Buzzfeed. It is hosted by Ryan Bergara and Shane Madej, the two “Demon Boys” of the corporation. The show that they host is a channel on YouTube, where they make a series about everything that has to do with the unknown. From sports conspiracies to exorcisms, and then to assassination, these series have something to offer for everyone. The two main topics they do cover are the Supernatural, and True Crime.
Ryan and Shane, posing like the Hardy Boys for the cover of their 6th season.
Let’s start with the technicalities: as for the videography and recording of the show, it is impeccable. The editing of the series sends chills down your spine and keeps you on the edge of your seat. It is indeed of high quality, and all the visuals maintain an aesthetic that fits with the entire show perfectly. The animations that they provide with the episodes are not worth missing, and transport you in the era that they occurred in. The production is, while very detailed, also straightforward, and it makes sure that you are engaged with the events that are unfolding.
However, let us be honest: The production of a show may be awe-inspiring, but without it having emotion, and evoking emotion, the show might be capable of being deemed worthless. This series does not lack in that department, though. While this series does instil an absurd fear in us, that is not the only emotion I felt while watching it. We also see the pure friendship of the two hosts, and it is genuinely delighting in watching. Watching this duo of grown men volleying hilarious insults at each other is truly comical. Their bickering and conversations will make you smile unconsciously, and will also leave your mouth hanging open at some times.
Overall, this show is one that I would highly recommend. This show, with its mixed bag of content, will never bore you. Its podcast-like nature will allow you to make your day a little better, and break the monotony, by being the exact opposite of conventional. This Halloween, it may be the perfect show for you to start. Because who doesn’t like adults arguing over whether killing is acceptable?
Shane throws out this quote casually at the end of the Australian Shark Arm Murder episode, and Ryan gets wide-eyed and uncomfortable at his outrageous remark.
Devs:
An incredible sci-fi thriller
-Aryan mahesh
Since we’re all stuck at home and for students in India, we all must have eight hours to spare. So, if you would like to fill in that time with a genuinely brilliant show, which also questions the nature of reality, watch Devs.
Devs is an eight-episode sci-fi thriller that involves a software company which designs the world’s most powerful quantum computers. Directed and written by Alex Garland, this show is intelligently presented and uses minimal CGI to further demonstrate it’s grounded storyline.
The show starts with Sergei and Lily - a couple working at the software company Amaya. Sergei presents a working model of an intelligent program that can predict the movements of a multicellular organism ten seconds into the future. Impressed with his performance, the company’s CEO Forest accepts him into the secretive Devs program just a few feet away from the main building. Upon arriving at the facility, Sergei is told to bring nothing in and take nothing out of the premises. He is allowed to work however long he wants, and all the code written by everyone else working at Devs is available to Serge. However, what Devs is working on is still ambiguously sidestepped by Forest. That is left to Sergei to figure out. What he discovers is maddening.
Meanwhile, Lily works in encryption. A day after Sergei joins Devs, he goes missing, and it’s up to Lily to find out where he is. Through her journey, she too discovers what Devs is working on, Sergei’s shady past, Forest’s reason for creating it and what the nature of her reality is. As she comes closer to the answer, she is repeatedly pursued by a relentless psychopathic head of security named Kenton, who’s brutality is even questioned by his boss Forest.
With incredible performances by Nick Offerman (Forest) Sonoya Mizuno (Lily) and Zach Grenier (Kenton), the show has a fantastic way of telling its story. It blurs the lines between good and evil while at the same time makes a terrifying antagonist out of Kenton. This show is also perfect for science fiction fans. Its concepts remain more or less grounded in actual physics. They portray concepts like the Many Worlds Theory and the nature of a deterministic universe where the future cannot be changed quite amazingly. It’s brutal yet surreal ending along with its soul-chilling soundtrack provides an enthralling experience for its audience.
Personally, I loved its storytelling. It doesn’t tell it linearly and keeps the audience on their toes with its constant twists. I also love the music choices and soundtracks that really pulls the audience in and keeps them enthralled.
In conclusion, I recommend this show to anyone who loves thriller, science, science fiction or just a good story. Devs (available on Disney+) truly is a masterpiece.
Inception:
An idea forming the basis for reality
-Shinjon sana
When mind-blowing movies come to your mind, what is the first one that comes up? If it’s not Inception, it is blasphemy. Now on to a serious question. What is the most resilient parasite? Bacteria? A virus? An intestinal worm? An Idea. Resilient… highly contagious. Once an idea has taken hold of the brain, it’s almost impossible to eradicate. An idea that is fully formed- fully understood - that sticks, right in there somewhere. Now have you got an idea about what Inception is about? No? Well don’t worry, as a movie, Inception delves more profound than ever into the grey area of human knowledge of the unknown than ever before.
I wonder how many of you know that our brains are the most active when we… dream. Shocking, isn’t it? But that’s when our brain’s potential is at its finest, and we can achieve anything literally or at least that’s what Inception tells us.
Inception is about dreams, and it has a shocking twist. Out of all the methods of theft, what seems the most far fetched to you? I’m willing to bet that you never would imagine the loss of intellectual property from your brain, well that’s precisely what Inception is —
planting a new Idea, one which will work against you or manipulate a pre-existing idea. This movie has already got such an epic storyline, yet it somehow manages to surpass all expectations and be even better. Part of this has to do with the star-studded cast and possibly the most outstanding movie director of this century yet, Christopher Nolan. This movie contains a wide plethora of emotions and will not let you leave your seat until the movie is over. Words cannot do justice; it is truly magical, and will blow your mind away.
I assure you; no other movie will explore such a wild yet, remotely plausible topic. Such a storyline is genuinely worth watching play itself out, especially when the acting is at such a high level. Pair that with the most gifted film music composer of all time and you have a classic for our generation.